Our First, Last and only visit to Universal...yuck!

[goofy!]

We are from Colorado also. Please don't group us with the few closed minded people out here. We are Big Time Disney fans and are looking forward to our first ever trip to Universal this July-August. We will be doing Disney first and then UO. We will walk in with an open mind and enjoy ourselves. I'm sure we are going to love it. I've been reading the UO board for some time and it sounds like everyone (with a few exceptions) has a blast.

Hey Thornton - Boulder here. (And hubby works in the glass deathstar on 120th). It must be us "Northerners" that are so laid back

You will love Universal!

 

[ChrisK]

If you dislike US/IOA so much, why are you here? Theres plenty other boards on this site for you to bother with if you dislike Universal that much.

A Jedi Knight should be treated with more respect.

Sorry Mr Jedi Knight. Please forgive all the negative posts and feel free to browse the boards and get all mad about all the positive postings about US/IOA. As a resident of the great state of Florida, we appreciate your money spent on tourism. Understand that there is 'OTHER' places to spend your money and have a good time.

Yes the Mickey Kool-Aid tastes good, but it's good to open your mind a little bit and not let Mommy & Daddy let you know the good and bad about life.

 

[flatline]

Obnoxious? Look at your photo. A grown man stood in line with a bunch of kids so his mom could take his picture with a princess.

give him a break about his mom, someone had to drive him to the park.

 

[Motherfletcher]

I'm bad! Forgive me, Lord! I know I'll pay when I meet Mickey at the Pearly Gates.

 

[goofy!]

You all should really go read the OP's trip report from the trip she is complaining about. It is quite amusing. Not knocking the OP, because, yes she is entitled to her opinion. However, her trip report is a prime example of how you want to look at things and if you choose to look positively or negatively, that is the experience you are going to get. Many of the same things that happened at Universal to her also happened at WDW, yet the OP chose to make the best of the stuff at WDW and become irritated at the stuff at Universal.

First of all, she complains on this board about unsupervised kids at Universal. But then she readily admits that her kid steals the life vest from under the plane seat and stuffs it into his backpack. Without her knowing. With her sitting next to the kid. Uhhh, you don't get it? Supervision?? So, it does happen to ALL parents eventually. Kids are quick, kids are active, kids are not always 100% perfect.

he pulled his life vest out from underneath the airplane seat and tucked it into his backpack without anyone seeing (including me sitting right next to him..still don't get it).

Here is the description of the view of her OKW room. Can you imagine the rant we would have seen here if RPR, HRH or PBH had given her a room overlooking 6 airconditioning units?

The resort was totally full so we were unable to get our requested room..but no biggie. The room was ready and we were off. The location wasn't great but not too bad. 1st floor with golf course view...or should I say obstructed golf course view. We had to look over the 6 AC units to see a portion of the golf course through the trees..oh well. I quickly cleaned & disinfected the room and unpacked. DH thinks I'm such a dork when I clean the room, but it makes me feel better

Hmmm, she valets the car at WDW. Why not at Universal? And I didn't realize that Valet parking was free, since she stated that she NEVER paid for parking at WDW.

Our first nights dinner is always @ Chef Mickey's and we got in the car to go. Valet'd the car @ arrived @ CM 10mins prior to ADR.

Ok, this just says it all. Running old ladies and gentlemen over?

I saw a huge group of people headed to CM check-in but saw almost on one in line. So I picked up the pace...gave DH the "I'm running to beat all these people in line...watch the kids and meet me up here later" look and took off. There was a lady and 2 gents walking VERY slowly up to the podium and making it very hard to get past. I saw my opportunity and tried to politely rush past them....didn't work. I had to sidestep a little and pretend like I was looking for my party ahead to get past...but got it done. I checked in right away and turned to see DH still about 40 paces behind..geesh..pick up the pace already babe, we're here!

Ohhh...didn't think she ever had to wait at WDW

I waited for nearly an hour for TOT but it was worth it.

But waiting almost an hour for Spiderman was not?

Too bad she couldn't have been so magnanimous when a helpful local sent her to the "wrong" park at Universal. Obviously it happens in Disney too

We ask the very friendly staff where to go for the Pirate Cruise (here on out will be PC for ease of type) and they very kindly point us in the complete opposite direction I don't know who is to blame, ME for not knowing a cruise would probably be at the dock, or HIM for working there and casually sending me to a kids club that is closed instead of the dock..hmm...I'll let you be the judge. In any event, we finally figured out that the boat and cruise will be at the dock

Day 5 and still doing Valet. I still want to know how to get that free valet!

So on with the rest of our day. We figured that since we already had parking taken care of with Valet,

.

OP's DH commenting to a person behind him on Buzz. Yep - those are the kind of people who make WDW a more family oriented place.

After a huge CHEATER comment he directed at someone behind him,

There were many more examples. And she also did some nice things, such give her CT reservations to another family who had lost theirs while in line. But she also talks a lot about being "the first in line", the first to wake up Tink, etc. Eyeing other "maniac" parents in order to get to Tink first, etc.

But her trip report for WDW just goes to show that she viewed WDW with Rose Colored glasses and had pre-conceived notions about Universal, as she encountered many of the same things at WDW that she did at Universal. She just chose to deal with it two different ways.

 

[pluto's fan]

I must say that I was slightly offended by the OP comments about US visitors. It only makes me think what some people must be thinking when they see my DH and I at the parks. We are not rowdy in the least but "non- East L.A. types " can be just as rowdy. I loooove Disney to death but I also love Universal just as much.(yes, I am a die hard fan of both resorts ) I always go to both resorts everytime I fly to Fl. Each place has something unique and special to offer and to try and compare the two isn't fair (IMHO). I just wish some folks would give Universal a fair chance. OK.. Universal rags on Disney...that's what competition is all about. Don't take it to heart. All I know is I will be having the best vacation possible at both resorts in OCT.

 

[damo]

Woah Goofy!, you really did your homework.

I am still waiting to hear back on how the parks were so dirty.

 

[sha_lyn]

wow goofy thanks for the eye opener.

 

[flatline]

But her trip report for WDW just goes to show that she viewed WDW with Rose Colored glasses and had pre-conceived notions about Universal, as she encountered many of the same things at WDW that she did at Universal. She just chose to deal with it two different ways.

did she start a thumbs down, never again, yuck thread about the negatives she encountered at WDW in the Disney threads?

probably not, that would be like walking into church on sunday and telling the priest you kicked his dog in the parking lot.

 

[goofy!]

Woah Goofy!, you really did your homework.

Let's just say I was bored and cranky today

I just don't get the "I can only love one, but not the other attitude.
But then, read her two descriptions about her kids. One is the "perfect" child, the other the "sibling of terror." Guess one is "WDW", the other "Universal"

DS8...purest soul I've ever seen. Patient, understanding, loving and caring beyond his years. LOVES babies and would give anything he had to anyone who would ask. Huge Mickey Mouse fan, but bigger fan of Walt Disney. Has already read every book on Imagineering and is determined to be an Imagineer as a career. Thank goodness I had him first

DS4...Heck on wheels! Completely different from his patient brother, this one was born to push the limits of everything! Constantly into something, getting into trouble, and enjoys Disney a little while on a rampage to get to where he's going. Just to give you an idea, he pulled his life vest out from underneath the airplane seat and tucked it into his backpack without anyone seeing (including me sitting right next to him..still don't get it). Let's just say, Sibling of Terror! Did I say he's only 4??

Gotta love them Siblings of Terror

I am still waiting to hear back on how the parks were so dirty.

Perhaps we should point her to the gross things witnessed at Disney thread

Darn Slow server. Edited to add that despite the descriptions of her kids, she does actually seem to gush over both of them equally. It was just fun to see the different way she views her two kids.

 

[robsmom]

I have to disagree with anyone that thinks Universal does not have enough for young kids. We took DS at 2 1/2 or so and again around 4 and then 5. I am reading these threads again as we plan to go in November and he is now 7. We stayed off site the first time and on-site the others. What i discovered with a young child at both universal and disney is that it is about stopping to smell the roses. There are so many things that i would have just skipped over as an adult that gave hours of enjoyment to him. The absolute pleasure in his eyes when we went to see Barney was so priceless that my DH suggested we go back again later the same day. I also remember spending over an hour in the curious george section - playing with balls inside and the water outside. To this day DS sleeps with "sharkie" which is a 3 ft stuffed shark that the girl gave him for beating me (and only me) in one of the games near Jaws even though he was entitled to some very small prize. We didn't ride a ton of rides with him when he was young but we managed to take turns and do the roller coasters and bigger rides - the baby swap at universal is much better than disney in my opinion

 

[MScott1851]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Motherfletcher
Obnoxious? Look at your photo. A grown man stood in line with a bunch of kids so his mom could take his picture with a princess.

give him a break about his mom, someone had to drive him to the park.

OUCH! I'm a total ***** and even I found this a bit harsh!

 

[4greatboys]

Im not going to flame you but will state my experiences. First of my family loves Disney and Universal. We hit both every trip.
They post the attraction waits at the beginning of the que like Disney does. if you didnt know how long the wait the was then you didnt pay attn.
I have never seen any part of Universal dirty, nor have we encountered any rude employee's.
I have also not run across any thugs My youngest 2 are 6 and 4 and have been going for years. Like Disney there were some attractions they can do and some they couldnt. My 6 yr old asks every trip if he is now big enough for the Hulk. He cant wait to ride it.
We stay onsite so we get FOTL. I dont really care for standing in lines--Universal or disney--so we do what we can to avoid them. You can also avoid waiting in line by buying an express pass.

 

[cometsmom]

Obviously you haven't experienced much of the youth of america if you think that everyone that looks a certain way is automatically a "thug".

I agree. The kids of today come in all shapes and sizes and yes, colors. My daughter who is considered an 'emo' kid wears the nerdy glasses, and wears her Chuck Taylors proudly. But, her best friends have piercings in odd places, sometimes have blue hair, sometimes pink. But, I know many of these kids VERY well and they don't drink, smoke or do drugs. (There's this 'straight edge' movement amoung kids) I have seen some of the soccer moms steer away from some of my daughter's friends, which is sad because their kids wearing the Hollister, Abercrombie, etc in the pink , popped collars are the ones who are getting pregnant at fifteen and getting drunk at all the dances. (I've chaperoned them)

 

[Figment22]

goofy!,
You are my new hero!
With your PI skills, (I absolutely mean this as a compliment--no snark here), you should head over to the CB. Maybe you can help out the woman with the wacky neighbor/too many trees/can't sell the house problem

I've said this in other "Let's bash Universal" threads: This is the one place on the DISboards where those of us who are Universal fans get to enjoy ourselves and discuss OUR favorite place. There are any number of forums where the Disnoids can discuss THEIR favorite place (and, I suppose, bash Universal if they must). They're welcome to come here for trip planning advice; there's any number of regulars here who are more than willing to help but to post a "thumbs down, yuck" kind of thread, well, they get what they deserve.

That being said...
Hey mods, hasn't this gone on long enough???

 

[cometsmom]

Wow - sometimes its best to keep comments to your IMHO - although everyone has their own opinion - everyone else don't need to hear it!!


Have you ever been to Epcot? Seems like - thats all I see when I'm there - alcohol drinking adults. Thats there business - not mine (as long as they are not offending me). And again as said by previous posters I doubt if the young people you saw drinking were really children but a young looking person - but still old enough to drink!!!

Djm99...When I see your pic of your daughter (?) and Goofy, it makes me smile everytime! Its sooo cute and she looks like she is a total lovebug!

 

[djm99]

Goofy!,

You are something else. Great skills. The thing I can't get is how anything (be it a theme park, person, etc. ruin your vacation). I go on vacation to have fun - it doesn't matter where I go - I'm going to go home smiling. I work too hard for my vacations to allow anything to ruin it. I'm always going to be in a positive, happy place while vacationing. Staying positive is the key to any successful vacation. Heck, its the key to life, IMHO!!! When you allow negativity in your mental space it drags you down - makes you tired!!! It takes more to frown than it does to smile. Keep smiling OP!!!

 

[djm99]

Djm99...When I see your pic of your daughter (?) and Goofy, it makes me smile everytime! Its sooo cute and she looks like she is a total lovebug!

Thanks - she's my lovebug!!!

 

[AlexandNessa]

xxxxxxx

 

[Sleepy]

My only problem with Universal is that well, Universal is VERY expensive when you have kids that are considered adult age. So no BOGO and only Deluxe resorts, just too much $$$ for two or three days. I hope to fit it in again sometime as we enjoyed much of it--I just can't spend almost $2000 for a couple of nights and passes for four add insult to injury when you cahrge me to park although I'm staying at the resort.
For the OP I'm sorry your experience was so poor.

Sorry to say, ALL theme parks consider kids of a certain age to be an adult when it comes to tickets. The last time we were at Kings Dominion in VA (about 7 years ago), the age of 7 was considered ADULT. Yes, 7. Disney & Universal charge the same age of 10.

Shades of Green on Disney property charges for parking as do many hotels everywhere. It's just a matter of time before Disney does too.